Paper fastener



W. H. SMITH PAPER FASTENER Jul 19, 1938.

Filed April 1, 1937 Wc' lliam If. S m/iilv.

Patented July 19, 1938 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE 11 Claims.

This invention relates to paper fasteners and more particularly to wire paper fasteners of the type adapted to hold a small number of papers such as letters, bills, circulars and other matter securely together.

The particular fastener in general comprises a single piece of wire bent to form a loop portion adapted to engage one side of a sheaf of papers adjacent an edge thereof, with the ends extending around the edge to the rear of the sheaf, a feature, however, being that the ends are provided with inturned short points adapted to pierce the papers at a point adjacent the inside of the lower loop portion.

Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide a paper fastener made of wire and adapted to secure two or more papers together.

Another object of the invention is to provide a wire paper fastener employing a minimum amount of wire of a relatively small gauge and yet effective to secure a plurality of papers together.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a wire paper fastener capable of being easily and manually clipped to papers and yet capable of more or less permanently securing the papers together in their same relative positions, all without the use of any machine.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a paper fastener of wire, which when applied to a. group of papers, will not interfere with adjacent papers or tend to grip or collect the same accidentally.

A further object of the invention is to provide an offset guard on the loop portion to prevent danger of the points piercing the fingers of the person using the fastener, and also to additionally protect the group of papers secured from interfering with adjacent papers.

The above and other novel features and objects of the invention will appear more fully hereinafter from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing. It is expressly understood, however, that the drawing is employed for purposes of illustration only and is not designed as a definition of the limits of the invention, reference being had for this purpose to the appended claims.

In the drawing, wherein similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views:

Fig. 1 is a perspective enlarged view of the fastener applied to a group of papers;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the fastener somewhat near normal size;

Fig. 3 is a side view of the fastener of Fig. 2 prior to its application to papers to be fastened;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a modified rectangular form;

Fig. 5 is a plan View of a further modified form;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of another modification circular in form;

Fig. 7 is aplan view of the form of Fig. 6 with a guard bend, and

Fig. 8 is a plan view of a double loop modification.

Referring to the drawing and more particularly Fig. 1, there is shown a Wire paper fastener applied to sheet material, the material being assumed transparent for the purposes of illustration. The fastener comprises a triangular loop portion l9 extending from relatively straight base portions I2 and Hi, the latter terminating in arms l6 and I8 and upturned pointed portions 20 and 22. The upturned pointed portions are of sufficient length to pierce a number of papers and may in practice approximate a sixteenth of an inch.

In order to facilitate operation of the fastener, the points 20 and 22 are located closely adjacent to and within the corners 24 and 26 of the loop 10 so that the paper is supported by the loop adjacent the points during the piercing operation.

The paper fastener may be manufactured from tin-coated steel wire of size 24 (basic hard steel Wire gauge), but it will appear obvious that any size of wire or material may be advantageous in different uses and sizes and shapes. In practice, the fastener is formed in the manner illustrated in Fig. 3, the fastener being open and ready to receive papers such as 30 and shown as inserted. Thereafter the fastener is gripped between the thumb and forefinger and squeezed or pressed together causing the points 20 and 22 to pierce the paper and upsetting the metal of the wire around the base so that the clip remains closed. In order to protect the users fingers from the sharp points 28 and 22 projecting through the paper, the end portion 32 of the loop is bent or offset downward as at 34 and 36 a short distance comparable to the length of the points 20 and 22, so that the fastener cannot, when papers are present, be pressed together sufficiently to cause the points. to project any substantial amount beyond the loop. The guard also prevents other adjacent papers from becoming attached thereto, or sliding under the loop, and such papers as iii may slide under the loop, if the same is not pressed sufliciently tight will surely engage projecting points and thereby be prevented from becoming attached.

In Fig. 4, a form employing a rectangular loop is illustrated, the points,however, lying in the corners as specified in connection with Figs. 1 and 2.

In Fig. 5 a modified form is shown wherein the wires are crossed at a point close to the base as indicated. In each of Figs. 1, 2 3, 4 and 5 the guard feature is present, the center portion of the tongues or loop being bent downward toward the points a slight amount at 40, the same being accomplished by bending the end portions at 42. The upward projecting points 20 and 22 as in Figs. 2 and i are positioned in the corners.

In Fig. 6, a further modified form is illustrated, the loop portion 44 being in the form of a circle and embracing the upturned spaced points 20 and 22, and in Fig. 7 the loop 44 is modified to include a dip to form a guard, the wire being offset or bent for a short distance 38 out of the plane of the loop 44 toward the points 20 and 22.

In Fig. 8 the loop is illustrated in a double form, producing a broader clip.

In each of the modifications, it should be noted that the points are widely spaced, and in effect keep papers that are fastened together thereby from turning relative to each other, and in each instance the piercing points are closely adjacent the wire portion of the loop so as to facilitate piercing, the action being more like shearing or punching due to the close support for the paper rendered by the loop.

The operation of the fastener has been previously explained to a certain extent, and it should be understood that in operation the metal is bent and upset so that it maintains its compressed together position permanently, although it will also be understood that the fingernail may be inserted under the guard and the fastener subsequently bent to an open position (see Fig. 3) should it be desired to use the clip again or to vary the arrangement of papers secured.

Although a number of shapes and modifications of the invention have been illustrated and described, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited thereto but may be embodied in various artful shapes and forms, as well as variations in sizes. Since many changes may be made in the form and shape without departing from the spirit or substance of the invention as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, reference should be had to the appended claims for a limit of the definition of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A paper fastener made of a single continuous piece of wire and comprising an open side loop portion substantially all of which lies substantially in one plane and two end portions substantialy all of which lie substantially in a second plane arranged at a slight angle to the first plane, the said planes intersecting substantially at the juncture of said end portions with said loop portion, said end portions extending from the open side of said loop across the loop and terminating with short pointed portions extending substantially perpendicular to the plane of the loop just short of the side of the loop remote from the open side, said short pointed portions extending toward the plane of the loop, and said loop having a portion of its remote side opposite said open side offset from the plane of the loop toward said points and said second plane to form a guard.

2. A paper fastener made of a single continuous piece of wire and comprising an open side loop portion substantially all of which lies substantialy in one plane and two end portions substantially all of which lie substantially in a second plane arranged at a slight angle to the first lane, the said planes intersecting substantially at the juncture of said end portions with said loop portion, said end portions extending from the open side of said loop, across the loop and terminating with short pointed portions just short of the side of said loop remote from the open side of the loop, said pointed portions extending toward the plane of the loop and being spaced from one another but within the area bounded by the loop, and said loop having at least a portion of its remote side opposite said open side offset from the plane of the loop toward said points to form a guard.

3. A paper fastener made of a piece of wire bent to form a pair of substantially aligned base portions, one pair of ends of which are symmetrically connected by a loop lying substantially in one plane, and the other pair of ends of which each have a portion extending toward the remote portion of said loop opposite said base portions, said extending portions lying in a plane at a slight angle to the first plane and intersecting the first plane substantially on the line of said base portions, each portion terminating in short points extendingpart-way towards the loop plane projecting toward the plane of said loop, said points being spaced apart but located within the loop area and closely adjacent to the wire forming the loop whereby piercing action is facilitated.

4. A paper fastener made of a piece of Wire bent to form a pair of substantially aligned base portions, one pair of ends of which are symmetrically connected by a loop lying substantially in one plane, and the other pair of ends of which each have a portion extending toward the remote portion of said loop opposite said base portions, said extending portions lying in a plane at a slight angle to the first plane and intersecting the first plane substantially on the line-of said base portions, each portion terminating in short points extending part-way towards the loop plane projecting toward the plane of said loop, said points being spaced apart but located within the loop area, and said loop having the remote portion thereof offset from the plane of the loop in a direction toward said points and said second named plane whereby to form a guard.

5. A paper fastener made of a piece of wire bent to form a pair of substantially aligned base portions, one pair of ends of which are symmetrically connected by a loop lying substantially in one plane, and the other pair of ends of which each have a portion extending toward the remote portion of said loop opposite said base portions, said extending portions lying in a plane at a slight angle to the first plane and intersecting the first plane substantially on the line of said base portions, each portion terminating in short points extending part-way towards the loop plane projecting toward the plane of said loop, said points being spaced apart but located with the loop area, said loop having the remote portion thereof offset from the plane of the loop in a direction toward said points and said second named plane whereby to form a guard, and said offset being offset a distance substantially the same as the length of said turned up points.

i ll

6. A paper fastener formed from a single piece of wire having a substantially rectangular loop portion lying substantially in a plane, the ends of said wire extending from a mid-point in one side of said rectangular loop, inwardly and across the loop towards the corners of the rectangle opposite said side to lie substantially in a plane at a slight angle to said loop plane and intersecting said first plane substantially on the line of said one side of said loop, said ends terminating in short points bent toward the plane of the loop, and located inside but adjacent the said corners of the loop.

7. A paper fastener formed from a single piece of wire having a substantially rectangular loop portion lying substantially in a plane, the ends of said Wire extending from a mid-point in one side of said rectangular loop inwardly and across the loop towards the corners of the rectangle opposite said side to lie substantially in a plane at a slight angle to said loop plane and intersecting said first plane substantially on the line of said one side of said loop, said ends terminating in short points bent toward and extending part-way toward the plane of the loop, and located inside but adjacent the said corners of the loop, said loop having the side opposite said one side offset from the plane of the loop toward said points.

8. A paper fastener formed from a single piece of wire and having a substantially triangular loop portion lying substantially in a plane, with short portions extending in opposite directions from one corner substantially parallel to the side of the triangle opposite said corner and each end 0 of said wire extending from each of said oppositely extending portions toward a remote corner of said loop to lie substantially in a plane at a slight angle to said loop plane and intersecting said first plane substantially on the line of said short portions, each of said ends having an end 'point extending part-way toward said first named plane and substantially at right angles thereto and located inside but closely adjacent each remote corner.

9. A paper fastener formed from a single piece of wire and having a substantially triangular loop portion lying substantially in a plane, with short portions extending in opposite directions from one corner substantially parallel to the side of the triangle oposite said corner and each end of said wire extending from each of said oppositely extending portions toward a remote corner of said loop to lie substantially in a plane at a slight angle to said loop plane and intersecting said first plane substantially on the line of said short portions, each of said ends having an end point extending part-way toward said first named plane and substantially at right angles thereto and located inside but closely adjacent each remote corner, said loop having the side opposite said one corner oifset from the plane of the loop in a direction towards said points.

10. A paper fastener made of a single piece of wire and comprising a portion substantially in the form of a circle lying substantially in a plane with an end bent substantially diametrically across the circle and lying substantially in a plane forming a slight angle to the first plane, said end terminating short of the opposite side of said circle and having a short point extending part-way toward the plane of said circular portion in a direction substantially perpendicular to said first named plane and within and closely adjacent the said opposite side of said circle.

11. A paper fastener made of wire and comprising a loop portion lying substantially in a plane and an end portion lying substantially in a plane at a slight angle to said first plane and intersecting said first plane at substantially the juncture of said portions, said end portion extending from one side of the loop and terminating just short of the other side with a short point portion extending part-way in a substantially perpendicular direction toward the plane of the loop, said loop having a portion of said other side oifset toward said point and said second plane to form a guard.

WILLIAM H. SMITH. 

